Shaw Heath & Higher Hillgate with Peter Edwardson

A WET night in July took us on a stagger around the southern environs of Stockport town centre, heading up Shaw Heath to the A6 and then doubling back down Higher Hillgate. Fortunately the heavy showers of the early part of the evening cleared up later on.

We began at the Armoury, prominently situated on the roundabout at the junction of Shaw Heath and Greek Street. This is a four-square Robinson's pub retaining a traditional three-roomed interior. We sat in    

the comfortable lounge where the mock half-timbering on the walls gave a reassuringly old-fashioned feel. The pub has a surprisingly large beer garden to the rear, but as it was raining heavily this did not find too many customers. Although early in the evening it was already fairly busy. Beers available were Unicorn and Hatters Mild, both of which were good, with the Unicorn slightly shading it.

A short stroll up Shaw Heath brought us to the Florist, an imposing Victorian pub in the Italianate style that can be surprisingly hard to spot from the pavement. The interior has been slightly opened out over the years but still has five separate areas ranged around the central bar, and plenty of comfortable seating. Robinson's beers again, following a similar pattern to the Armoury with the Unicorn just that little bit better than the Hatters.

We continued along Shaw Heath, passing the keg-only Plough on our left, and then turned right down Adswood Lane West to reach the Adswood Hotel in its rather secluded location. This is a large, three-bay pub set back from the road behind a cobbled forecourt. The spacious interior features a variety of separate  

areas, but it was a sign of the times that the social focus of the pub seemed to be around the commodious smoking shelter to the rear. There is also a large beer garden to be enjoyed in better weather. There were a number of pictures of old Stockport on the walls and a display of beer trays featuring dray horses. No change from the diet of Robinson's, but the beer kept up the good form of the first two pubs.

Retracing our steps, we crossed back over Shaw Heath and reached the Blossoms at the junction of the Bramhall Lane and the A6, our fourth Robinson's pub of the evening. This is an impressive corner building with a surprisingly small interior comprising a central bar with pool room, vault and snug off. It was fairly busy, but we were able to find seats in the vault, which unusually features a pin table. The beer quality kept up the high standard of the evening so far - there really was very little to choose between these four pubs.

Crossing the A6 on to Higher Hillgate, we passed the Wheatsheaf on the right, which has served real ale in the past, but had none tonight, with a pumpclip turned round on a solitary handpump. We fared better at the Bowling Green, set back a little from the main road on Charles Street. This is a former Wilsons pub whose previous ownership is still reflected in the tiling in the gents'. It has been refurbished fairly recently      

but retains a two-roomed layout with distinct vault and lounge sides. It was probably the busiest pub of the evening so far, with a lively atmosphere. Appropriately for the rainy weather, the karaoke was featuring "Riders on the Storm". One real ale was available - Theakston's Best Bitter - which was generally felt to be in good nick.

We continued down Higher Hillgate, passing the former Royal Mortar on our left, which has been closed for a few years now but still has not found an alternative use. Almost opposite is the Flying Dutchman, a compact modern pub rebuilt from an older one some years back. The interior has a contemporary feel but still has a number of separate areas. It was fairly busy, with a noticeably younger clientele than most of the pubs so far. On entering, you are confronted with a row of prominent keg taps, but real ale in the shape of Robinson's Unicorn is available round the corner on an electric metered pump, a very rare sight nowadays, but one that at least guarantees you a full measure in an oversize glass. The beer was quite reasonable although not on a par with the Robbies' pubs visited earlier.

The rain had by now largely stopped as we carried to the Star & Garter, an impressive four-square pub commanding a view down the middle part of Hillgate. The interior retains some of its former multi-roomed    

layout, with one of the former front rooms being dominated by a pool table. In the other a karaoke had been set up but was not currently in action. It was rather quieter than some of the other pubs but nonetheless the Robinson's Unicorn was in good condition although the Hatters shaded more towards average.

The final lap of the stagger took us past the keg-only Crown or "Corner Cupboard" - once a good pub in the days when it sold real ale - and the closed Golden Lion before arriving at the Sun & Castle, our final port of call. This is a 1930s building that has been refurbished by Holts in a fairly lavish Victorian style. The only cask beer was Holts Bitter, which was comfortably above average. A Mild pumpclip was on display although the beer was not available. For some reason, the vault side was darkened and deserted, but there was plenty of activity in the lounge where a karaoke was in full swing and even encouraging some of the customers to get up and dance, producing a good, lively atmosphere to round off the evening.

A noticeable feature of this stagger was the consistently good quality of the beer. Although it varied a little between pubs, there wasn't really anywhere that you would be unhappy to be stuck in for the evening. It's disappointing, though, how the other pub operators do not make the same effort as Robinson's to stock real ale in their pubs - three of the five non-Robinson's pubs we passed were keg only. And, while the Hatters and Unicorn were generally in fine form, it would be good to see a little more effort to stock some other beers from their range in what in many cases are flagship pubs, not backstreet boozers. As ever, these are only the impressions of a particular group of people on one specific night. Why not try the pubs for yourself and see what you think?